The price of gas in Europe is rising due to forecasts for cooler temperatures and Norwegian maintenance
Dutch and British gas rates rose on Tuesday, as forecasts called for cooler temperatures over the weekend. They also cited maintenance scheduled at certain Norwegian infrastructure this week.
LSEG data shows that the Dutch front-month contract increased by 0.34 euros to 40.69 Euro per megawatt hour or 12.88/mmBtu at 0818 GMT.
The Dutch June contract increased by 0.37 euros to 41.24 Euro/MWh.
The British day-ahead contracts was up 1.25p at 98.25p/therm.
The weekend temperatures are expected to be below normal, which could increase gas demand and slow gas injection into storage.
In a daily note, LSEG analyst Wayne Bryan stated that "we also have the first major bout of Norwegian maintenance starting the day ahead. Any extensions will spill directly into the cold snap and is a minor risk."
LSEG data shows that maintenance at the Dvalin-Aasta Hansteen gas field will reduce Norwegian supply by 30 millions cubic metres per day as of April 2.
The winter gas season ended on March 31, and the gas storage sites in Europe are almost two thirds empty.
In a daily report, Consultancy Auxilione stated that "Concerns about gas storage refilling in advance of next winter are still playing out. With a third capacity in stock at the end winter, eyes start to look forward at the trajectory of refilling."
The European Union is discussing a proposal which would allow it to diverge from the target of filling natural gas storage up to 90% by winter if market conditions made this prohibitively costly.
The benchmark carbon contract in Europe was 0.01 euros higher at 67.99 euro per metric ton. (Reporting by Susanna Twidale, Editing by Rashmi aich)
(source: Reuters)
